Elite Traveler March-April 2018

INSPIRE TOP 50 ADVENTURES AIR

HEL ITOUR THE CANADIAN ROCKI ES ALBERTA, CANADA One of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, Canada’s Rockies are an awe-inspiring scene of jagged peaks, lush forests and alpine lakes. The best way to take in the awesome landscape is via helicopter — explore remote, virtually untouched areas that can’t be accessed by foot. Tauck’s seven-day Bugaboos Adventure begins at Alberta’s Banff National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site, where you can horseback ride, hike through the mountains or take to the river for a rafting adventure. Next, head to the high country of the Purcell Mountains by helicopter to check out the snow fields, huge valleys and snowcapped peaks. Each time the helicopter lands, an expert guide will escort you to secluded landscapes to see sights such as chiseled granite spires towering up to 9,800ft, ice fields and waterfalls. During the trip, you’ll stay in Canada’s finest mountain resorts, including Bugaboos Lodge and Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. From $6,000 for seven days. Contact Kaci McAllister, director of sales, tauckreservations@ tauck.co.uk, +1 800 788 7885, tauck.co.uk

NEAR-SPACE FLIGHT THE ATMOSPHERE A part of the atmosphere once reserved exclusively for astronauts, near-space is now becoming a destination for daring civilians. The stratosphere, mesosphere and lower part of the thermosphere create near-space, somewhere between the Armstrong limit (above this, humans need a pressure suit to survive) and the Kármán line (where the atmosphere meets outer space). Taking off from just about anywhere on earth, Brown + Hudson’s near-space flight is the most luxurious way to take on this profound journey. Lifting off at 4am in a state-of-the-art pod that can hold four people, you’ll reach a height of 22 miles in around one hour. The entire flight takes 12 hours (withMichelin-starred in-flight dining), with two hours cruising in near-space. From $550,000 for four people. Contact Chris Brunning, senior trip planner, chris@ brownandhudson.com, +44 203 358 0110, brownandhudson.com